Diabetes affects more than one in ten people in Wisconsin, and one in four healthcare dollars in the U.S. are spent caring for patients with diabetes. But thanks to efforts and collaboration between departments and locations across our organization, Gundersen Health System has taken steps to become the leader in diabetes optimal control in Wisconsin.
According to data released at the end of 2022 from the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ), Gundersen tops all other healthcare systems in the state who provide data to WCHQ.
“I cannot express how thankful and proud I am of the teamwork, persistence and innovation Gundersen has demonstrated to improve the care of our patients with diabetes,” says Kim Hardy, MD, Gundersen Family Medicine. “We set our expectations high for the quality we provide to our patients and continue to move the bar with continuous improvement for all of our patients and communities.”
Gundersen has made diabetes control a priority initiative since 2016. A variety of staff including wellness coaches, MA rooming staff, clinic nurses, schedulers, diabetes care specialists, pharmacists, quality improvement, professional development nurses and others collaborated to develop a plan of care that is best for patients. Since then, Gundersen has seen a steady increase in success. In the previous WCHQ report, Gundersen was ranked second in the state for diabetes control before earning the top spot in the most recent rankings.
This focused work is a key factor in Gundersen’s vision of enhancing the health and wellbeing of our communities while enriching every life we touch, including patients, families and staff. Improving diabetes optimal control leads to less risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, blindness and amputation.